P2P Shakedown Lawyers Apparently Still Sending Subpoenas To Get Info On Defendants Who Had Cases Dismissed

from the there's-an-ethical-issue-here dept

About a month ago, we pointed out an effort by an anonymous concerned citizen who has been tracking the massive increase in these P2P file sharing shakedown lawsuits, that are all about sending "pre-settlement" letters and getting people to pay up, rather than really taking all these people to court. So far, the courts have been pretty good about dumping many of the cases that involved thousands of defendants, noting that it makes little sense to put them all together in a single case. The person who made that epic spreadsheet is continuing to keep it updated, and it shows about 110,000 people sued:

Of course, what this also shows is that approximately 40,000 defendants have been dropped from these cases, mainly after judges pointed out how bogus it was to join so many defendants into single cases. However, the EFF is noting that it's received reports that some of the law firms involved in these schemes may still be sending subpoenas to defendants already dismissed from cases. Similar to Evan Stone's sending subpoenas before a judge had okayed it, this suggests a massive breach of legal ethics. Sending a subpoena on someone that a judge has already dismissed from the case? That seems like a strategy for trouble.